» Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Iraq Debate

Asked what was new in the Prime Minister's opening remarks to the debate on Iraq in the House of Commons this afternoon, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said we had never claimed that people would hear any new argument because the Prime Minister had been consistent in his view as to why the war in Iraq had been right. The only new thing today was his response to the Butler Report in terms of his announcement relating to the formal establishment of an ad hoc Cabinet Committee to deal with any future situation, in addition to the announcement of the new JIC chairman on an interim basis and then a permanent appointment to be made in 2005 under the criteria set down by Lord Butler. Asked if the Prime Minister had been signalling the end of "Government-by-sofa", the PMOS said that he had simply been referring to a formalisation of the process which was already taking place.

Briefing took place at 15:30 | Read whole briefing | Comments (8)

PM’s Day

Asked why the Prime Minister had changed his diary arrangements for this morning, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said he wasn't aware that he had. He pointed out that this afternoon's debate on Iraq in the House of Commons had been a late addition to his diary, so any changes that might have been made to his schedule were likely to relate to the need to prepare for that.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Reshuffle

Asked if a reshuffle was going to take place today, the PMOS said he had nothing to add to what he hadn't said yesterday about this issue. He pointed out that the Prime Minister would be having a busy afternoon with the debate on Iraq in the House. Asked about the Prime Minister's engagements for tomorrow apart from PMQs, the PMOS said that tomorrow was another day. Asked if the Prime Minister would be on the frontbench for the Defence Secretary's Statement, the PMOS said he was not aware of any plans for him to be present at this stage.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Firefighter Deaths

Asked the Prime Minister's reaction to the deaths this morning of two firefighters in London, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister sent his sympathies to the families of the victims. He recognised the debt that we all owed to firefighters and the real risks they ran to protect people at home and at work.

Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comment (1)

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